Delta Motorsport Electric E-4 Coupe

Delta Motorsport has launched its battery-electric Delta E-4 Coupé, which has a top speed of 150 mph and a range of 200 miles.

The lightweight, two-door E-4 Coupé can also accelerate from zero to 60mph in less than five seconds.

The E-4 Coupé has a carbon composite chassis, designed by Delta and manufactured by KS Composites. It weighs just 85 kg – two-thirds less than a comparable steel structure despite being designed to pass EU crash tests.

The car features high performance direct-drive electric motors, designed in partnership with Oxford University and spin-out Oxford YASA Motors. They produce well over 600 Nm of torque and over 120 hp each, while only weighing 23 kg.

The car is designed around the low, floor-mounted batteries, which helps to improve handling and reduce the frontal area and therefore drag.

Delta Motorsport , founded in 2005 by Simon Dowson and Nick Carpenter, has considerable experience in the motorsport and mainstream automotive sectors, as well as other high performance engineering and clean technology projects.

Dowson says: “We became involved with the design of hybrid and electric vehicles because they share many of the engineering challenges associated with motorsport – lightweight parts, aerodynamic efficiency and innovative packaging solutions. We’ve had to re-think road cars from the beginning, looking at low cost composite structures, system efficiencies and novel occupant packaging.”

Development of the car was supported by a grant for research and development by the Regional Development Agency for the East Midlands area, EMDA. Five vehicles have been produced for the Technology Strategy Board Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme. The vehicles are part of the EEMS Accelerate consortium which aims to showcase high performance electric vehicles with cutting edge British design and engineering.

The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led government body which works to create economic growth by ensuring that the UK is a global leader in innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy.